The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1887-08-25
TOO LATE.

| the 1eiloW.
Tom Carter spoke with much more
warmth than he himself at all sus-
| pected.
1t was certain that, from his point of
| view, Florence Asgard did some I'M
| considerable things knew, and culti-
waited some quite impossible people.
That came, of course, from the un-
| precedented, wholly Bohemian bring
| ing-up she had received at the hands
of that extraordinary old uncle of hers
Tom Carter had never suspected
himself to be a prig; but he was quite
sure that he did not like queerness in
women. 1t would actually, at that
moment-so much of the aboriginal
savage is there still in man-have
given him intense satisfaction to have
been able to tell himself, with one of
those sensations of fine objection to
which he was prone, that this adora-
bly, lovely girl was ..bad form. "
But he had some time since discovered
| that Florence Asgard could be meas
| ured by no standards save those she
herself suggested. She was Florence
Asgard, simply. No one else was like
her-she was like no one else.
What | see in poor Isolanip" she
replied, after seeming to study the SUBJ
| iect a moment. "There is much that
is fine and noble to see in him, Mr..
Carter" She had turned little
toward him. ''And there is divinely
much to hear"
ooh, yes, of course" he answered,
with the stiffness of surly boy. Il
don't understand much about music,
though"
NO" she said quietly.
But hardly think, even if | did,
that any amount of violin playing
| would reconcile me to some of those
underbred foreign fellows manners"
He was talking like a narrow minded
dolt and brute, and he knew it. But
he was feeling too savage to stop.
The little pallor which crept over
her cheek, and the tremor that came
to her lip, should have made him 90
down on his knees for shame. She
raised her slender head with the deli
cate naughty little motion he had
learned to know
Eyes, Isolani does eat peas with his
knife" she said more quietly even
than before But uncle and do not
| ask him to dine with us, nor have we
invited him to come down in the coun-
| try to visit us, that he may give US les
sons in table manners. And perhaps
mere manners of one sort do not count
| for as much as we of the Anglo-Saxon
race think. Isolani is not only a gen.
ius, but perfect gentleman as well.
Even though" she added, "he does
| eat peas with his knife"
Carter got on his feet. A fierce
turmoil ragged within him, but his outer
man showed no signs of the disturb
ance.
"Oh, see that you are very fond of
your protege," he said lightly, moro
Extensively than before, taking up his
hat in an easy manner, land will alb
solutely not hear him abused. "
| You are right" the girl answered
very colby. Il am very fond of him. !"
| Once in the street the turmoil spoken
of had full chance to decompose into
its several elements of self-disgust, re-
morse, resentment, and jealousy, and
| each in turn to come to the surface.
| Though, as to the latter passion, Car
ter resolutely refused to allow its ex-
istence.
To suppose, to begin with, that he
was actually in love-he, Tom Carter,
who had always kept free from such
| entang nglements-wa too preposterous
| a notion to give shelter to. And jeal-
| ousv of a half-staryed Italian fiddler
whom the Asgards had taken up and
were befriending out of love of his
| talent and his music, but still more out
| of that queer semi-artistic philanthropy
| of theirs-oh, come!
| Nevertheless, those friends of Tom
Carriers who met him while he ate a
| surly dinner, and who afterward sat
| with him through four acts of tune
| ful opera which each had seen a score
| of times before, with its attendant
wealth of ballet, found him very dull
companion indeed.
When he had left them he made a
| long detour through the silent streets
| that echoed to his football, and present
| IL came out upon the house in which
| the Asgards lived.
| BY this time his saner self had so far
conquered all other feelings that he
would have given almost anything to
1 have been able TO present himself there
| and apologize to Miss Asgard for his
4 brutal sayagery of few hours before
Only the sense that he could not, with
1 any lingering shred of decency, ring
| their door-bell on such an errand at
| AT eleven o'clock at night kept him
from doing SO.
A vision of the girls delicate, proud,
| pale face rose before him and sent a
fierce pang through his heart.
He walked slowly past the house,
| and at the moment the door opened
| and man came. out. Carter did not
| need the evidence of the coffin-shaped
| box ne carried To tell him that it was
| the Italian, lsolani.
Probably he had been dining with
the Asgards again and spending the
evening, and playing to Florence,
doubtless lifting her soul into realms
celestial. while old Asgard TRANQUILITY
took nap in the adjoining room
He was good-looking fellow
enough, too. Women would probably
| think him so. They would see genius
in his white square face and his wild
black eyes, and the artistic locks which
| tossed about his shiny coat-collar.
| Carter must have been willing to blind
himself, indeed if he could mistake the
4 H.. - II